Air Force General Counsel Blog

As our readers are no doubt aware, in recent months the Air Force has announced significant reductions to manpower and personnel, and our office is not exempt from these reductions. Due to reduced resources, the General Counsel's office is…

Two public events involving climate change and national defense coincided this week. The first involves Secretary of Defense Hagel and USAID Administrator Shah highlighting climate change's role in increasing regional political instability…

On March 18, the Defense Information Systems Agency (“DISA”) announced the milCloud service, a government-operated cloud tailored to DoD needs. Two computing centers have implemented milCloud for DoD’s unclassified network…

AOTUS - Collector in Chief

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. …

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Signed on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, the ADA was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. The…

Recently I came across a story about an archives in a box of Corn Flakes. A woman in Tennessee had stored some 400 letters written by former German prisoners-of-war who had lived in camp near the state’s southern border. After ……

CFPB Monitor

Kim Phan
In a blog post on the CFPB website, the CFPB advocated on behalf of veterans with service-connected disabilities, who face obstacles when transitioning back to civilian life and working to become financially secure. The CFPB…

Barbara S. Mishkin
The Texas Bankers Association (TBA) announced on its website that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request with the CFPB to obtain all documentation the CFPB requested from bank software processors on the…

Richard J. Andreano, Jr. and Barbara S. Mishkin
Yesterday, the following four CFPB-related bills were passed by the House Financial Services Committee: H.R. 3192, the “Homebuyers Assistance Act”: The bill would provide a hold…

FIA Sets Forth Five Core Principles in Enhancing CFTC Market SurveillanceIn a response to a request by the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee for comment on how best to develop a 21st century surveillance system, the Financial…

Massad Says CFTC Hampered by Budget ConstraintsRecently appointed CFTC Chairman Tim Massad announced last week that there were “a lot of things” he would like to do to continue the CFTC’s goal of regulating financial…

O’Malia Urges Regulators to “Do No Harm”CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia issued a stern warning to financial regulators in the United States and abroad that market fragmentation could have grave consequences on the…

Colorado Common Law

A Vaughn index is a tool used in public records disputes where the person requesting documents, will ask the court to compel the records custodian to list all responsive documents and explain why or why not the documents should be released.…

It appears a sad new trend in Colorado is to create policies or laws, treating homelessness as a criminal condition. A new report, “No Right to Rest: Criminalizing Homelessness in Colorado” which details the efforts cities and…

The City of Denver is working on banning people it considers nuisances from high traffic areas. And does not appear there is much concern in the community about the practice. Well, I have a big problem with the practice and I will argue…

A news director at this station, about a decade ago, wanted me to engage in what some call pack journalism, to talk about whatever was occupying the press’s attention. I understood his point; people’s interest was already peaked.…

We did something that infuriated Iranians in 1953 by organizing a coup removing their democratically selected Prime Minister. They did something that properly infuriated us in 1979 by taking our embassy staff hostage. George Bush announced…

Here is a link to an article by Bill Beeman, Iran specialist and U. Minnesota anthropologist just back from a trip to Iran, that I think well worth reading: Iran Won the Vienna Accords By Agreeing to Stop What It Never Was Doing…

Susan Antilla of Bloomberg news published a recent column revisiting the question of the continued viability of state securities regulators’ enforcement authority. I spoke to Susan about my research on the issue and I am quoted in…

Susan Antilla of Bloomberg news published a recent column revisiting the question of the continued viability of state securities regulators’ enforcement authority. I spoke to Susan about my research on the issue…

Mexican drug cartels are smuggling foreigners from countries with terrorist links into a small Texas rural town near El Paso and they’re using remote farm roads—rather than interstates—to elude the Border Patrol and other…

Kuwaiti Officials in U.S. to Help Free Gitmo Captive Denied Release by Obama’s Parole Board

Will the U.S. cave into an Arab nation’s pressure—witnessed firsthand by Judicial Watch—to release a senior Al Qaeda operative and Osama bin Laden advisor who has already been refused discharge by President Obama’s…

During the government shutdown a couple of years ago, an employee at a cabinet-level agency long embroiled in scandal fraudulently charged thousands of dollars in personal items on his work-issued credit card. Enraging as it may seem,…

Court-Martial Trial Practice

Sixty years after Congress created the UCMJ to protect accused servicemembers from abusive and arbitrary punishment, a significant faction in Congress now believes it must be almost completely dismantled and restructured because is is not…

There are some interesting articles for military justice practitioners in the Summer 2015, MLR. Barracks, Dormitories, and Capitol Hill: Finding Justice in the Divergent Politics of Military and College Sexual Assault Rudderless: 15 Years and…

I thought prosecutors knew they couldn’t comment on exercise of right to silence

At trial, the Government repeatedly sought to use Edwards’s silence after he was Mirandized as substantive proof of guilt as well as for impeachment purposes. Over Edwards’s objection, the Government emphasized in its closing that…

By nearly any measure, sunny South Florida is tops in fraud (AP): Since the first settlers hacked their way into the mangrove tangles and drained much of the swampland, sunny South Florida has been virtually synonymous with shady deals and…

What the Reaction to Bill Cosby Reveals About Society's Construction of Men Who Rape

I have not said much on Cosby and the numerous rape allegations against him. I think the last time I mentioned him was after Beverly Johnson came made her accusation. I found it powerful and, given...
To view the rest of this article, please…

Mainstream and rightwing media have done an atrocious job discussing the legal issues implicated by President Obama's immigration policy. While rightwingers clearly believe the president's policies...
To view the rest of this article, please…

On Monday, I identified four problem areas to watch out for on Election Day: 1) lines at the polls, 2) voting equipment, 3) voter registration lists, and 4) provisional and absentee ballots. While machine breakdowns and polling place lines…

We now know that Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States of America. In the enormity of this moment in American history, the gritty details of election administration, upon which my Moritz colleagues and I spend so much…

Equal Vote: Election Law @ Mortiz

Covers election reform, the Voting Rights Act, the Help America Vote Act, and related topics. Special attention to the voting rights of people of color, non-English proficient citizens, and people with disabilities. Publsihed by Dan Tokaji at Moritz Colle

On Monday, I identified four problem areas to watch out for on Election Day: 1) lines at the polls, 2) voting equipment, 3) voter registration lists, and 4) provisional and absentee ballots. While machine breakdowns and polling place lines…

We now know that Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States of America. In the enormity of this moment in American history, the gritty details of election administration, upon which my Moritz colleagues and I spend so much…

UPDATE: the approved text of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union is available here. The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union is…

On July 30, the Department of Justice announced that San Diego-based spinal device manufacturer NuVasive, Inc., had agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle civil claims, originally brought by a former employee turned whistleblower, that the…

Miami-based nursing home chain pays $17 million to settle former CFO’s whistleblower case

On June 16, the Department of Justice announced that it had reached a settlement with Florida-based Hebrew Homes Health Network, and its CEO, in a suit originally brought by the company’s former CFO as a whistleblower. According to…

Vernia Law Firm publishes 2015 edition of the False Claims Act and Government Fraud Deskbook

The sponsor of this blog, The Vernia Law Firm, has arranged the publication of Volume I (Federal Laws) of the 2015 edition of the False Claims Act and Government Fraud Deskbook, a compilation of federal civil and criminal statutes,…

FDA Lawyers Blog

FDA has recently challenged the use of wooden planks (shelving) to age certain cheeses, a practice that has been going on for centuries. The Agency is concerned that wood absorbs and retains certain bacteria, such as listeria, that can…

Proposed Rule Deems E-Cigarettes "Tobacco Products" Under the Family Smoking Prevening and Tobacco Control Act

The Food and Drug Administration introduced a proposed rule yesterday that would extend its existing authority over certain tobacco products. Under the proposed rule, FDA would now oversee electronic/e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco,…

Zogenix, Inc., the San Diego-based manufacturer of the extended-release hydrocodone drug Zohydro ER, has sued the Governor of Massachusetts in U.S. District Court in Boston to overturn as unconstitutional the state's recent prohibition…

Should Past GAO Decisions Be Considered in Deciding Whether to File a Bid Protest?

Several times a week, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) posts bid protest decisions on its website. Generally, decisions are not posted in their entirety; portions of the bid protest decision are often redacted…

Last month the Small Business Administration designated an area of Downtown Leesburg, Virginia as a HUBZone, or “Historically Underutilized Business Zone”. As reported by Ethan Rothstein in an article published in Leesburg…

When a bid protest is timely filed with the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) an automatic stay goes into effect and continues until the case is resolved. This automatic stay is not bulletproof – it can be…

Litigation dominated regulatory practice last week. New filings in the Waters of the United States litigation clarified, as expected, some issues and process in nearly a dozen different district courts, and two court of appeals standing…

As Washington swelters, the regulatory docket remains relatively cool. Among last week’s highlights, litigants further challenged the regulatory jurisdictional definition of “Waters of the United States” and the current, now…

Summer in Washington and the regulatory agenda is not on vacation, but small sauntering through large items. For example, one agency has extended by a year the compliance date for a major rule, another agency created a public relations…

FERCBlog

A Michigan power plant’s threatened closure may cost Wisconsin ratepayers over $48 million to preserve it’s continuous operation. The proposed cost for Michigan ratepayers is $4 million, or twelve times less than…

On March 26th, Representative Henry Waxman (D – CA 33rd District), introduced the following bill, H. R. 4298, “To amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-power system and electric infrastructure critical to the United…

Justice in Aging is a national nonprofit agency which advocates for seniors and pursues litigation involving unlawful practices that affect large classes of the population who are aged or have disabilities. I have previously written…

Techniques of Behavioral Analysis can be useful in avoiding threatened discharge from a nursing home

If you are the advocate for a loved one in a nursing home, whether that’s your spouse, parent or other person, you might encounter this problem. Your loved one suffers from dementia, confusion, and limited ability to express themselves…

New Jersey enacted a statute in 1998 that enables banks to release certain information to law enforcement concerning their customers’ accounts when they suspect that the customer may be the victim of illegal schemes such as scams,…

If you are a law student interested in studying abroad, the University of Tulsa offers a program in Geneva relating to Indigenous people. The 2009 program will run July 4 - August 1, 2009, and the classes offered for the first two weeks are…

Transcript of Argument in Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle

The transcript of the argument today in Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle is available here. Surprisingly, the Court was heavily interested in the idea that a majority Indian-owned corporation might be considered an Indian…

This was originally submitted to the Tulsa World as an op-ed piece, but was not published:update as of 4/10/08: The Tulsa World did indeed publish this an op-ed piece, The Native American Times reprinted it and the Cherokee Phoenix plans to…

Fracking Insider Readers: We are pleased to bring you Volume 43 of our State Regulatory Roundup, including updates in California, New York, and Ohio. As we explained in earlier volumes, we designed the Roundup to provide quick overviews on…

Fish &amp; Wildlife Service Issues Notice of Intent to Regulate Incidental Take of Migratory Bird

On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) published a notice of its intent to evaluate potential ways to regulate incidental takes of migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). The…

The Campaign for Freedom of Information's next course on 'Information Commissioner & Tribunal Decisions - what do they mean in practice?' is taking place in London on 28th November 2013.This course, now in its 8th year, aims to help…

76 campaign groups, charities and press bodies have written to the prime minister urging him to drop proposals to restrict the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. They say the proposals are not compatible with the prime minister's stated aim of…

MPs call for extension of the FOI Act to cover contracted out public service

An Early Day Motion calling for the extension of the FOI Act to cover contracted out public services has been tabled by Labour MP Grahame Morris and co-sponsored by Caroline Lucas (Green), Mark Durkan (SDLP), John McDonnell (Lab), Margaret…

Freeth Cartwright LLP Local Government

In January, I posted a blog about changes to judicial review of planning decisions. At the time, the government was considering a specialist tribunal for planning JRs as well as restrictions on those who could bring judicial review claims.…

A key issue for any private sector partner working with a local authority is the extent to which the use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) may force the disclosure of commercially…

From today Tribunal claims will not generally be accepted unless the Claimant has first referred the complaint to ACAS and a ‘Conciliation Certificate’ has been issued indicating compliance with this referral requirement.…

Nominate Gavel to Gavel for ABA Journal’s Top 100 law blogs of 2015; deadline 8/16/15!

Thanks to your support Gavel to Gavel the blog has been named one of the ABA Journal Top 100 Blawgs (law blogs) three years in a row. The ABA Journal is seeking nominations again this year starting today and running through Friday, Aug. 16,…

Bans on court use of sharia/international law: Enacted in Mississippi; activity in 6 other states; WV considered ban on court use of “karma”

2015 saw some 32 pieces of legislation introduced in 17 states to ban or limit the use by state courts of foreign or international law. Of these, Mississippi saw after 5+ years of trying the enactment of such a ban. HB 177 provides in…

In a matter of keen interest to the small business community, last month the Supreme Court, granted certiorari in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States. The Court’s decision will hopefully bring some closure to the…

Heads up! Inflation Adjustments To Acquisition Thresholds Are Just Around The Corner

On July 2, 2015, the FAR Council issued a Final Rule that amends the FAR, effective October 1, 2015, to implement inflation-based adjustments to certain acquisition-related monetary thresholds. 80 Fed. Reg. 38293. The modifications will be…

Note: The following post is adapted from the forthcoming 2015/2016 GSA Schedule Handbook, published by ThompsonWest, due out later this year. The last year has been a tough one for the GSA Multiple Award Schedules (“MAS”)…

Americans like to sue. But, there are many laws that require the aggrieved party to follow certain procedures before heading to court against a government agency. This process of jumping through agency hoops is known called “exhausting…

A recent decision by the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) has held that, where the Government asks offerors to extend the acceptance period for their offers, a softly whispered “no” is still a “no”. In WIT…

Proposed Department of Labor rules would increase the number of employees covered by overtime regulation

More than a year ago–on March 13, 2014, to be exact–President Obama ordered the Department of Labor to update the regulations that govern who is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards…

In Appeals of LRV Environmental, Inc., the ASBCA considered the issue of whether or not the Government’s “reconsideration” of a contracting officer’s final decision acts to re-set the 90-day clock for jurisdictional…

On July 15, 2015, the Chairmen of the House committees of jurisdiction sent a letter to Labor Secretary Tom Perez and OFPP Administrator Anne Rung regarding the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Proposed Rule and Guidance. …

FAR Council and DOL Extend “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” Comment Period

In response to several requests from industry to extend the a 60-day comment period for the proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and guidance implementing the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order,” the FAR Council and the DoL have…

Greenversations

Every summer, EPA brings in students to work, learn practical environmental skills, and enhance their educational experience through our Pathways Intern Program. The Big Blue Thread is proud to feature several blogs written by these summer…

When the Clean Water Rule goes into effect on August 28, it marks a new era of protection for our nation’s streams and wetlands. We are enthusiastic about the opportunities provided by the rule to improve the process of identifying…

CMS Proposes Revisions to Stark Law Rules: Will they Provide Flexibility to Achieve Health Reform Goals?

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed regulations “to reduce burden and to facilitate compliance” under the physician self-referral law known as the Stark Law. The proposed changes, which are…

On August 27, 2015, CMS is hosting a call to help health care providers prepare for ICD-10 implementation on October 1, 2015. CMS staff will be joined by representatives of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and…

On August 11, 2015, CMS is hosting a provider call to discuss its proposed rule to reform the Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements for long-term care (LTC) facilities. A question and answer session will follow the CMS…

Hot Button Blog

As summer rolls to a close, the agencies continue to make announcements and roll out additional regulations. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) introduced the new CEO of Healthcare.gov, awarded grants to 147 health centers…

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made announcements this week regarding the Open Payments system and the availability of Affordable Care Act (ACA) Consumer Assistance Program grant funds, issued a request for additional…

August recess has begun on Capitol Hill. Congressmen and women and senators are home in their districts and states, and Capitol Hill staffers are catching up on piled up work. Nonetheless, last week Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) released…

“DRIVE, He Said[1] ”—But When?? Congress ducks new long term transportation funding bill and adopts a three-month extension of MAP-21 instead

Hopes that that the Congress would pass S. 1647, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act (DRIVE Act), a six-year, $478 billion transportation funding reauthorization bill before the August recess have,…

The long-awaited Presidio Parkway opened for the first time to Bay Area motorists on July 12th, ahead of schedule and to local and national praises. The $1.1 billion Presidio Parkway replaces Doyle Drive – an outdated and seismically…

Drivers in the U.S. are seeing the benefits of toll roads, according to a new report published by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA). The 2015 Report on Tolling in the United States (June 30, 2015),…

Special thanks to Robert J. Tribek and other attorneys at Rhoads & Sinon LLP (in Harrisburg, PA) for authoring this brief on behalf of IMLA and other parties. There’s a long history to this case, with litigation itself spanning back…

Yes, it had to happen. A law banning raves. Today, California State Assemblywoman Fiona Ma introduced the “Anti-Raves Act of 2011.” This proposed legislation comes on the heels of the death of a 15-year old girl at a Los Angeles…

Over at The Los Angeles Criminal Defense Blog, there is a review of a new 2011 law that allows car owners to install “video event recorders” in their vehicles, it was (and, until January 1, 2011, still is) illegal to install these

Lawfare

Coveres actions taken or contemplated to protect the nation interact with the nation’s laws and legal institutions, including cybersecurity, Guantánamo habeas litigation, targeted killing, biosecurity, universal jurisdiction, the Alien Tort Statute, and the state secrets privilege. By Benjamin Wittes, Jack Goldsmith and Robert Chesney.

David Sanger has a very damning story on the USG’s struggles to figure out how to respond to the OPM hack. It has decided it has to do something, Sanger tells us, but it cannot decide what to do, or whether to do it publicly or…

Last week, the podcast featured Aspen Security Forum interviews with a trio of Obama administration national security officials. This week is Part II, wherein we share edited discussions at the Aspen Security Forum from White House…

Legislation Law Prof Blog

Miller v. Alabama Roundup 2015: Three More States Eliminate LWOP for Juvenile

From Tracy L. Denholtz, a fellow in the Juvenile Sentencing Project at Quinnipiac University School of Law: In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles violate the…

An Increased Elderly Population Calls for Modernizing Nursing Home Care

With an increasing elderly population and a predicted need for continuous care facilities there will be an increased cost associated with these facilities. On average the cost of a nursing home private room exceeds $83,000 per year and…

Is a win for direct democracy necessarily a loss for legislatures – or a win for the people?

This post was written by Nate Ela, of COWS If you were following news earlier this week about the end of the Supreme Court term, you probably read that Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission was a win...

Vanessa WolbrinkLegislativeThe public (63%) does not support private school vouchers: every time a voucher program has been put to a vote in the past 45 years, the voters have rejected it. Despite this disapproval, Governors around the…

LegislativeAdoption agencies could refuse to place children in otherwise stable homes because the parents seeking to adopt are unmarried, previously divorced, a same sex couple, or adherents to a religion not practiced by the child-placing…

Vanessa WolbrinkLegislativeThese bills are especially troublesome because they would allow government employees to discriminate in the name of religion. We’ve been blogging a lot about state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)…

Late last month, news that the University of California planned to increase tuition by up to 28 percent over the next five years sparked waves of walkouts and protests throughout the UC system. At the time, the California Legislature was in…

Three Unconventional Laws That Allow People to Make Liberal, Wardrobe Choice

Most people in the United States don’t need to dig in and do a whole ton of law research to know that they’re supposed to wear pants and other clothes in public. What might surprise you, though, is that there are tons of legal…

Any legal professional who’s ever done even the smallest amount of law research has more than likely encountered a legal statute or two that seems devoid of any legislative intent at all. Unbelievably, the U.S. legal system is rife with…

Washington Court Holds Ballots Secret and Not Subject to Public Disclosure

The Washington Constitution, Article VI, Section 6 states: “The Legislature shall provide for such method of voting as will secure to every elector absolute secrecy in preparing and depositing his ballot.” This provision was…

No Privacy Interest In Employee's Identity Connected To Existence Of Investigation When Allegations Are Not Described

In Predisik v. Spokane School District No. 81, the Washington Supreme Court holds by a 5 justice majority that disclosure of employer investigation records that reveal an employee’s identity do not implicate employee privacy rights…

Local government employees in Maryland are restricted in their ability to sue for injuries caused by an employer or coworker. In Blue v. Arrington, a Baltimore City employee (Arrington) hurt another employee (Blue) while they were…

In the unpublished case Tanner v. Social Security Administration, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals considered a case in which the Social Security Administration had twice denied a claimant’s disability insurance benefits claim. The…

In a recent Maryland Court of Appeals case, the Court determined that even though a contractor did not have workers’ compensation insurance, they could be an employee of the general contractor, and therefore …

By Michael Reiter Attorney at Law You may have seen the articles about the new California law that permits dead lawns during the drought. Here is the text of AB1, introduced by Assembly Member Cheryl Brown (D-San Bernardino):…

I was a Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Bernardino and the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Redlands. Along with another Deputy, I advised what was then the Code Enforcement Department in San Bernardino. The City of…

Byron Waters, Pioneering San Bernardino County Attorney and the First President of the San Bernardino County Bar Association

By Michael Reiter, Attorney at Law As a Director-At-Large of the San Bernardino County Bar Association, President Jack Osborn asked me to serve on the San Bernardino County Bar Association Bulletin Committee. As such, I will be writing…

Nancy Rapoport's Blogspot

Covers governance in higher education and in law firms, bankruptcy ethics, popular culture and the law, Enron and other corporate fiascos, and professional responsibility generally. By Nancy Rapoport, a law professor at UNLV's Boyd School of Law.

My old friend, Seymour Serebnick, just passed away. I loved his boundless curiosity and his deep generosity of spirit. He knew of my love of Disney and was always finding me rare surprises. And he and I loved to talk about…

I think that the dissent was closer to being right than the majority opinion was (of course I think so: I was one of four folks on this amicus brief), and that Congress should fix the problem by adopting the test that we proposed in our…

Taken directly from our announcement--couldn't have written it better myself:On behalf of Dean Rama Venkat, the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering is proud to announce that our team DRC-Hubo @UNLV finished in eighth place among the…

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2014-2015update.htmlPetition for certiorari was filed in Torres v. Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians (Sovereign Immunity, Liability of Tribal Officers) on 6/22/15. See also…

U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/2014-2015update.htmlPetition for certiorari was granted on June 30, 2015 for Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. U.S. (Self-determination Contract) U.S. Courts of Appeals…